【明報專訊】An energetic day starts with a good breakfast, and bacon is one of the favourite ingredients. However, people have been eating less bacon since 2015, when the World Health Organization (WHO) classified bacon and other processed meat in the same category as cigarettes which causes cancer.

Processed meat can cause bowel cancer because it is preserved with nitrites (亞硝酸鹽), which are converted to carcinogens in our bodies. Still, concerned bacon lovers now have a healthier option as British company Finnebrogue has successfully manufactured the nitrite-free "Naked Bacon".

The company claimed that they use a safer chemical to prevent bacteria growth and give the bacon its texture and flavour with its recipe of natural Mediterranean fruit and spice extracts. How about the taste? Chairman of Finnebrogue, Dennis Lynn, assured consumers that Naked Bacon tastes just as good. "Our Naked Bacon is not only safer than any other bacon on the market, it also tops the charts in blind taste tests." Despite the lower cancer risk, nutrition experts warned the public that bacon is still high in fat and salt so it is best consumed occasionally.

(Sources: The Independent, The Telegraph)

■Photo Story

When commenting on Naked Bacon, Neil Parish, Chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee in the House of Commons of the UK said, "It's a remarkable feat of food technology.

■English highway﹕Not only ... (but) also

We can use "not only ... (but) also" to emphasise that while one thing is true, something else is also true.

e.g. Beatrix Potter not only wrote the text but also drew the illustrations of the Peter Rabbit stories by herself.

■Quiz

(Answers on next text)

1. Is the following statement true or false?

Naked Bacon is free of chemicals.

True/False

2. Find a word in paragraph 2 that means "changed".

____________________________________

3. Why should we consume bacon occasionally even though it is free of nitrites?

____________________________________

4. Which of the following is likely to be caused by nitrites in processed meat?

a. obesity

b. cancer

c. diabetes

d. bronchitis

■Glossary

processed meat (n) 加工肉

preserve (v) 保質

carcinogen (n) 致癌物

texture (n) 質感

[Smarties' Power English 第205期]